The Ghost of Tsushima has been reviewed on the PlayStation 4.
I have always been fascinated by samurai tales. Be it the late 1950s action flicks by one of the most celebrated Japanese directors Akira Kurosawa or the action-packed cartoon series by Genndy Tartakovsky, Samurai Jack.
When I got wind of the fact that Sucker Punch Productions was working on a samurai tale of its own I couldn’t wait for the release Ghost of Tsushima.
The past couple of weeks have gone by playing this epic action-packed samurai adventure and the experience has been invigorating.
We reviewed the Ghost of Tsushima on a PS4 and our experience left us wanting for more each time we progressed through this open-world stealth action game.
The Plot
Ghost of Tsushima is based on the actual invasion of Japan by the Mongol empire in the 13th century. Deviating from the actual invasion, the story is a narrative about a samurai, Jin Sakai, voiced by the Daisuke Tsuji from the American web series The Man in the High Castle.
A story that begins with a fight at the Komodahama beach takes Jin through the expansive landscapes of Tsushima where he battles not only the Mongol army but also himself.
It’s a story of inner conflict as Jin’s teachings go against his way of guerilla warfare that he must adopt to defeat the arch enemy.
The build-up to the campaign is a bit slow but once it picks up you won’t be able to get your hands off that DualShock controller.
The campaign storyline is stimulating. It smartly weaves game characters like Jin’s uncle, Lord Shimura, who is wanting to relive the island of the enemy. Jin also meets several other characters along his journey who help him fight the Mongols.
The overall objective is to round up as many allies as possible to take on the invading Mongol army.
Side missions mostly revolve around the in-game characters and are called Tales of Tsushima which you can choose to explore along with the main campaign. These missions are equally important as they offer Jin a chance to grow his skills to take on bigger enemies.
It’s easy to lose the plot of the main campaign if you get too engaged with the ‘Tales’ so tread carefully.
In the end, your objective is to become the super samurai and rid the island of Tsushima from the Mongol army led by their general Khotun Khan (the grandson of Genghis Khan).
Gameplay
Ghost of Tsushima brings to the genre one of the best combat styles I have seen in a long time. It feels like a mix of Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher.
The game has a good mix of stealth and aggression and you get other weapons to add to your arsenal like throwables which include knives and sticky bombs. Not to mention you have your trusty bow and arrow to help you play Robin Hood along your journey.
Combat involves a combination of heavy, light and moderate attacks. Where the gameplay gets more interesting is with the different combat stances you have to change according to your opponent. For example, the Stone Stance is effective against other swordsmen while the Moon stance is ideal for heavier rogues.
Be on the lookout for fatal attacks that you cannot block and must dodge. These are marked by a red spark.
You get both audio and visual cues before the enemy is about to attack you so that will always help you negotiate a large number of Mongols at the same time.
There is no level or rank that you are pursuing in the game as character development is skill-based. Each successful mission gives you skill points which you can use to unlock special skills.
You get to unlock stances, charms, upgrade armour and find new weapons along the way and you also get to discover special attacks by completing side-missions.
The Standoff mode is a fantastic addition to combat. You get to challenge enemies in a one-on-one battle mode where you can slay the opponent with just a single strike. As you progress in the game you get the option to take down multiple opponents in the Standoff mode just with a single push of a button.
You will also encounter duels with bosses as you progress in the game. Patience is the key if you want to beat them.
You also get to discover shrines and hidden locations throughout the island although there is not tactical map available on the screen. Rather, you're assisted by what the game calls Guiding Wind.
Songbirds and foxes lead you to undiscovered locations which can help you increase your overall Health and Resolve.
Resolve is quintessential as more of it helps you increase your health and the only way you can gain more resolve is by killing more enemies.
You also get to explore missions narrated by musicians which are complemented by animated with Sumi-e ink paintings. Completing these tales often reward you with special armour and combat abilities.
One thing that might bother a few gamers is the fact that you cannot skip dialogues and cut scenes. This can slow down the overall gameplay at times not to mention that you’ll be spending a lot of time horseriding through Tsushima.
Also, most of the gameplay is about combat and you really don’t have to use your problem-solving skills to accomplish missions. It’s mostly tracking and killing enemies while jumping from one cliff to another rooftop.
Deceiving the AI is pretty easy even after you’re spotted and that’s where I feel the developers have missed out.
Graphics & Audio
Ghost of Tsushima is a visual treat.
The adventure takes you through Japan’s most breathtakingly beautiful landscapes. The character animation stands out and the colours given to the environment bring the game to life.
You can also explore the entire game in black and white Kurosawa Mode to match the gameplay with classic Akira Kurosawa movies. But don’t play the entire game in that mode as you’ll miss out on some of the best visuals a game in the genre has produced.
From the rich white lilly fields to the unending stretches of yellow leaf forests, traversing through various terrains is a stimulating experience that is matched with the excellent background score.
The island is teeming with natural beauty, which makes it a joy to explore even if you don’t have a destination in mind.
The game will take a toll on the hardware as my PlayStation 4 temporarily transformed itself into an Airbus A-380 engine every time I was running the game due to the excess heat generated. Despite that, there wasn’t any lag of framerate drops whatsoever.
I loved that the developers have added traditional Japanese music to the gameplay. A calm walk through the pastures will be complemented with a melodious shakuhachi (Japanese flute) score while the music picks up and instantly switches to Taiko (Japanese drums) beats when swords clash.
The English voice cast is good and you also get the option of playing the entire game out in Japanese with English subs.
Verdict
Ghost of Tsushima is a densely packed samurai adventure you must play. Not only do the visuals in the game leave you awestruck but the various combat styles also add that extra oomph you’d been longing for in this genre.
With very little load time backed by an engaging storyline, Ghost of Tsushima deserves a spot in the top drawer as one of the best open-world games to date.
If I were to give it points out of 10, the Ghost of Tsushima is definitely a 9.
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